Royalty
by Hanya625
Summary: Orihime is having some trouble after being left behind in the world of the living, but it's nothing compared to the problems that await her in hueco mundo. Beast series #5. Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**Royalty**

 **Chapter 1**

At first Orihime didn't recognize the man that was walking towards her, he looked much like he had when he'd returned from the precipice world before he'd defeated Aizen except he wasn't in soul form and he was dressed in normal human clothing. His longer hair partially obscured his eyes, but she could feel his intense gaze on her as he walked closer and she found herself hypnotized by how he moved. He seemed to flow with a bit of a swagger that he hadn't had before and Orihime could see that she wasn't the only woman around taking notice; she wasn't sure what Ichigo had been doing in the year he'd been away, but it was clear that he had changed somehow and Orihime had a feeling she could quickly go from liking Ichigo to becoming totally obsessed with him. He stopped in front of her and tilted her head up with a finger under her chin, his expression serious, and Orihime swallowed nervously as a shudder went through her and Ichigo's mouth twitched upward on one side into a sexy little half smile

"Yeah, I guess Yoruichi was right, you really are perfect," he decided and she couldn't even find enough breath to ask just what she was supposed to be perfect for, but he evidently read the question in her eyes because he clarified "we're going back to the soul society so that you can meet everyone, and once all that's out of the way I'm going to make you mine,"

Orihime jolted awake and looked around her room wildly for a moment before her mind calmed enough to realize that she had been dreaming, she groaned and threw her arm over her eyes as she tried to calm her racing heart

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' she chastised herself and her wayward mind that insisted on running amok when she slept to try and explain why it was that Ichigo had been gone for a year, though she was sure that it had something to do with why Urahara and Yoruichi had vanished shortly after Ichigo had gone missing. Without a way into the soul society Orihime wasn't even sure that Ichigo was alright, but she could feel that he was alive in a way she'd had from the moment she'd began to develop her powers. She hated that she had no way to check on him, but she supposed right now she should try and content herself with the fact that he was alright and continue to live her life.

She sighed and sat up, swatting her alarm which went off to signal the start of the day, and after washing her face and getting dressed she put her hair up and pinned her shun shun rikka in place before grabbing her bag and leaving for work. She'd gotten an office job straight out of high school, figuring she would have died in the soul society before having to worry about silly things like adult responsibilities but she had bills to pay after all, and just like every other day her shun shun rikka did quite a bit of work as well keeping men from touching her. She didn't know why but after she'd returned to the world of the living after being captured by Aizen, men had flocked to her; true she'd had her admirers in school, but this wasn't just harmless flirting. Twice she'd almost been attacked this month and she didn't know why or how she could make it stop, if not for her powers she knew she'd have been in a lot of trouble

"I should have killed them," Tsubaki muttered, on guard on her shoulder like most days lately, and Shun'ō sighed, perched on her opposite shoulder

"I'll admit that people have been acting strangely around Orihime for a while now, but we can't go around killing people; think of how much trouble that could get Orihime into Tsubaki," Tsubaki snorted and looked away as he often did when he knew that Shun'ō was right but didn't want to admit it, but Orihime was increasingly grateful for Shun'ō 's level headed way of looking at things because her attacking flower quickly reverted to silence which was no doubt a pout though he'd kick her for saying so. The work day was uneventful with Hinagiku, Baigon and Lily watching her back, a blur of filing, sorting, and transferring phone calls and when she was packing up to leave she stood only to come face to face with her boss. He'd been kind from the start, if a little too close for comfort most days, but today the look on his face made her wary and apparently rightly so because he moved a step closer and reached for her as he spoke but Orihime didn't hear his words because she was too busy backing away. Her shun shun rikka came to her defense and she quickly made her escape out the front door where she felt a hand grab her wrist and yank her into the alley nearby, she opened her mouth to call for Tsubaki but her mouth closed after a relieved sigh when she saw a familiar and female face

"You're jumpy today," Yoruichi observed and Orihime gave her a strained smile

"And you've been gone for a while, what's been happening?" Yoruichi gave her a once over with a serious frown on her face then shook her head

"This isn't the place, let's get out of here and I'll tell you everything when we get back to the soul society," Orihime followed after her to Urahara's store, but before they got to the subterranean area Orihime ventured

"Is Ichigo alright?" unable to hold it in anymore, and Yoruichi glanced back at her with a grin as she dropped off the ladder and called up as she walked towards the senkaimon

"Oh yeah, I'd say he's better than alright," Orihime hurried down the ladder and got to the senkaimon as quickly as she could, a bit out of breath by the time she caught up, and without giving her any warning or time to catch her breath Yoruichi grabbed onto her and grinned before tossing her through the gate.

'Into the fire,' was Orihime's first thought when she opened her eyes and looked around, in shock she was sure because all she could do was remind herself not to move around too much because she had no idea what was going on but she'd seen enough nature shows to know that the large cats in front of her were a danger to her even if they were oddly colored. The tiger was darker than it should have been and was wearing an eye patch, the jaguar was red instead of tan, the cheetah was black with gray spots, and of all of them the leopard looked the most normal since Orihime had seen pictures of snow leopards before, and when a black panther stepped through the senkaimon behind her Orihime reacted quickly. Her shun shun rikka formed a shield that was a cone shape, guarding her from all sides, and she startled when she heard Yoruichi's voice

"Well that's new, we leave you alone for a year and you mutate your powers on us?" Orihime looked around a bit frantically, wanting to believe that Yoruichi hadn't just literally thrown her into a big cat's den to be dinner, and her eyes fell on the panther who was tilting its head to the side curiously as if not understanding her reaction "Orihime? Come on, we're not gonna eat you," the panther said in Yoruichi's voice and Orihime's eyes widened in shock

"Speak for yourself," came Zaraki's voice and Orihime's head whipped around in time to catch the tiger continue "the way she's smelling I get the feeling Ichigo's gonna-"

"Captain Zaraki!" came Yumichika's outraged voice and Orihime glanced to the side to catch the cheetah add "Really, so crude, there are ladies present and judging by Inoue's face I don't think Yoruichi bothered to explain anything before shoving her into the senkaimon,"

"What fun would that be?" Yoruichi asked as she glanced around "Where'd Ichigo run off to?"

"We had him go back and get the others, figured it'd be faster than letting us all go back," the jaguar said in Renji's voice

"True," Yoruichi decided and laid on her stomach "especially since it's almost spring and even you male couples are becoming randy bastards," she sighed and closed her eyes "well in the mean time, why don't we all get cozy and answer Orihime's questions so she can relax a little?" Orihime looked around again as the cats all settled on their stomachs much like Yoruichi and then, swallowing nervously as her shun shun rikka shattered, she slowly pointed out the cats she knew

"Captain Zaraki, Yoruichi, Yumichika, lieutenant Renji, and…?" she paused on the leopard who rolled onto his side with a sigh as he seemed to melt into the ground in a content lump of fur, no doubt because of the warm sun

"Ukitake," the leopard supplied and Orihime's eyes widened in surprise before looking around at them all

"Why…?"

"Aizen," Yoruichi said and Orihime immediately noted the bristling fur on Yoruichi, Renji, and Ukitake "he changed us, implanting his DNA inside of us and using us for some twisted project," Orihime looked at the ground as she felt bile rise in her throat, she didn't have to ask how because their reactions told her more than she wanted to know already, and she glanced a bit cautiously at Yumichika and Zaraki who surprisingly didn't seem upset like the others "Yumichika used to be a prostitute," Yoruichi supplied and Orihime decided that, with what little she knew about him, it made sense. She looked at Zaraki who didn't even bother opening the eye that wasn't covered with his energy eating monster

"He said it would help me get stronger, and as much as I hated him I gotta admit that he was right; we're all stronger now," Orihime looked back at Yoruichi and ventured

"What does any of this have to do with Ichigo?" Yoruichi grinned as she slowly opened her eyes

"Oh, I had hoped that you'd ask that," she practically purred and Orihime looked up when she felt a shadow fall over her

"Behave, Yoruichi," Urahara said as he wandered over to her "you know how humans are, if you get right to that matter she won't hear you tell her anything else," Orihime watched as he settled on the ground by Yoruichi and started running his hand through her fur while he looked back at Orihime. His hair was pulled back into a small ponytail at the base of his skull and his hat was gone, but otherwise Urahara hadn't changed at all

"Kenny!" came a familiar cry and Orihime looked up to see Yachiru come falling down from seemingly nowhere only to land impossibly lightly on the back of the tiger who lifted his head to nuzzle her tiny body before settling his head on the ground again, and even as Orihime frowned because after seeing Yoruichi and Urahara interacting she had a sneaking suspicion Yachiru suddenly glowed a light pink and changed into a woman with waist length pink hair and a body more curvy that Orihime's own. Orihime's eyes went wide and Yoruichi chuckled

"Oh yeah, so worth it, I'm glad I didn't tell you that she could do that because you're reactions are priceless!" she laughed when Urahara nudged her and Yachiru looked over at Orihime and grinned before waving and settled herself comfortably over the tiger's large body

"Hey Jiggles! We missed you!"

"Lieutenant, you were just calling her Orihime a minute ago, why do you insist on using silly nicknames to the one you're talking to but not everyone else?" Yachiru snuggled into Zaraki's fur and muttered

"Shut up and hug Yumichika before he jumps on you, baldy," Orihime glanced over her shoulder to see that Yumichika had risen and gone over to meet Ikkaku, and Orihime looked away with a light blush

"Oh, she's gonna lose it the first time she sees one of our male couples kissing for the first time," Yoruichi said with amusement and Orihime looked up quickly and squeaked

"What do you mean _one_ of the male couples?"

"Yoruichi, I'm starting to think you enjoy this too much," Kyoraku said as he wandered over to Ukitake and knelt, taking a moment to run his hands along both sides of Ukitake's face before kissing his nose and settling against his side to use the large feline as a reclining cushion

"Well yeah, except all of the Aizen bull we've been sorting out this last year it's been boring as all hell," she lamented and Orihime looked around curiously, wondering who would come to claim Renji, and her eyes went wide when Byakuya came through the trees

'No way,' she thought in shock but, sure enough, Byakuya went over to Renji and knelt at his side, settling comfortably on his heels before reaching out a hand to scratch Renji's cheek for a moment which clearly wasn't enough for the jaguar because he rose and draped himself over Byakuya's lap. The squad 6 captain didn't seem at all ruffled or annoyed by the action and in fact rested his hand on Renji's side as a purr rumbled from all of the large cats creating quite a chorus as Orihime looked around at all of the happy couples before her gaze fell to the ground again. She thought of leaving, after all being around so many blatantly content couples only made her feel restless, but a moment before she could stand and run she felt warmth at her back and she found that she could barely breathe when Ichigo spoke

"I hope these idiots didn't scare you," the low rumble in his voice was exactly like in her dream and Orihime felt her cheeks flush

"Told ya so," Zaraki said and Yumichika spluttered a protest

"He hasn't said hardly anything, how does that in any way translate to-"

"Zaraki's right," Kyoraku broke in "but really, this time of year which of us isn't ready to jump into bed at a moment's notice?" he held his hands up defensively, clearly Ichigo had given him a dark look

"You'd really benefit from choosing a mate and locking yourself away with them for a while, you're so fucking uptight lately," Zaraki muttered as if bored and Yachiru looked at Orihime for a minute before asking Ichigo over Orihime's shoulder

"Are you and Jiggles gonna be mates, Ichi?" Orihime felt her cheeks heat further and she stood quickly, intent on leaving before she could hear Ichigo's answer, but she only made it a handful of steps before she found her path blocked by a lion with a familiar shade of orange streaking his mane. He caught and held her gaze before saying in Ichigo's voice

"That's up to Orihime, right now she's only here so that we can help her through her change," he looked over at Yoruichi with an intense gaze and Orihime had a feeling that he was talking with her, then the others as he shifted his gaze to each of them in turn, but Orihime could only frown in confusion as she ventured

"Change?" Ichigo looked back at her and sat down before explaining

"Aizen forced the change on all of us, even those that willingly went to bed with him, but it seems that he changed his method with you in the hopes of infecting me; we think it worked, judging by what Yoruichi found out about your troubles lately," Orihime shook her head, not understanding what he meant, and Zaraki being the helpful guy he was said quite bluntly

"You're going into heat,"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Orihime sat outside by herself for quite a while after the conversation she'd been a part of when she'd gotten to the soul society, watching the others as they one by one changed back into forms that she was familiar with, and when Renji changed back to normal she was surprised to see him grab Byakuya's shihakusho and haul him close for a few heated words and she was even more surprised when Byakuya flushed a light pink and nodded only to be kissed as a reward for his submissive behavior. Yoruichi had been right, Orihime felt her cheeks heat as she watched them leave to no doubt go to bed with each other and she quickly shoved all thoughts of them in bed together out of her head. She didn't really mind that they were together, after all that was their business and none of hers, but thoughts of them together were making her feel really restless again which brought her thoughts back to Zaraki's words

'You're going into heat,' he'd said, but Orihime couldn't quite understand it; if she hadn't changed yet then what was it that was drawing men in the world of the living to her?

"Your scent," Orihime looked up to see that Yoruichi, back in her human form, was perched in a tree a short distance away

"My… scent?" Orihime asked in confusion and Yoruichi nodded

"Well, for humans it's probably something more like your energy, but us felines can smell it. Even in human form it makes me want to snuggle up to you and ask to be petted," Yoruichi chuckled at Orihime's look "Oh, nothing sexual, I'm not attracted to you, but cats tend to want to please the head female when she's going into heat because it means an easier time for the rest of us if she's happy,"

"Well, wouldn't you or Yachiru be the head female? You guys have already changed and everything…" Yoruichi shook her head and gave Orihime a 'duh' look

"Ichigo's our king, in a sense, because he's the strongest of us; if he chooses you, then you'll be our queen," Yoruichi yawned and stretched before settling back against her tree and Orihime looked around and, noticing everyone was gone, ventured

"Why aren't you with Urahara?" Yoruichi smirked without opening her eyes

"Spring is mating season, but each couple gives off different shall we say waves; depending on the couple we need each other more or less during the day, I tend to be more needy at night," Orihime blushed, almost sorry she'd asked but at the same time grateful that Yoruichi was free to answer questions

"And Ichigo?" she wondered and Yoruichi shrugged a shoulder

"Single males are different, they might feel the need but until they've claimed a mate they don't settle into a rhythm," Yoruichi opened an eye and smirked as she teased "trying to decide when you'll have time to work and when you'll be too busy playing?" Orihime shook her head, the insinuation going right over her head as she thought back to her dream

"Why did he leave without telling anyone? His sisters have been frantic looking for any sign of him,"

"Well he couldn't have stayed at his home the way he was, he lost control for almost eight full months before he began to control himself, and he's only recently been able to take and hold his human form again," Orihime watched as Yoruichi slowly opened her eyes as if looking into the past "I guess it's because he was the only vizard that Aizen infected, his body reacted differently than us soul reapers and even you as a human," Yoruichi glanced over at Orihime and said in a serious voice "and as much as I hate that he did this to so many people, it's nice to not only not be alone anymore but to have another woman who knows what it's like," Yoruichi settled back against her tree with a soft sigh as she closed her eyes "anyway, Ichigo's calling you," Orihime looked around in confusion, after all she hadn't heard anything, and Yoruichi tapped the side of her own head as she yawned "we got a freaky mind thing going on with him, he can talk to us even if he is here and we are in the world of the living; perks of being king I guess. He's waiting for you in front of the squad 13 barracks since Ukitake moved in with Kyoraku and gave up his bedroom," Orihime blushed at the implications, wondering how much or how little would be expected of her tonight, and Yoruichi cracked an eye open "ah, don't freak out, he just wants to feed you some supper and get you comfortable before he drags you off to Hueco mundo in the morning," Orihime rubbed uneasily at her arms as goose bumps formed and admitted

"I don't want to go back to that place,"

"Yeah, I know the feeling, but if you don't then you won't change and if you don't change then you can't get rid of the heat cycle, and needless to say if you don't then you won't be safe going back to the world of the living," Yoruichi gave her a serious look "it won't be comfortable for a while, you're gonna have a lot of stuff to work out before you know how you want to live your life, but if you don't then you'll be stuck here in a world where you really don't belong, and Ichigo will have to find another for a mate," the last part made Orihime want to wince but instead she met Yoruichi's eyes squarely

"He doesn't want me, and if he really is your king then he needs a strong mate," she looked away and shook her head a little "that's not me, I am not a queen," she gave a little half smile that felt brittle and fake "my whole life, I've never been more than a princess,"

Ichigo watched as Orihime left Yoruichi where they had been talking about 15 minutes away and sighed as he rubbed at his temple, he hadn't liked Yoruichi's idea of basically spying on them while they talked using the mind link that all the felines had found but Yoruichi had insisted and Ichigo had learned more than he'd thought from the 'girl talk'

'He doesn't want me,' Orihime had said 'I've never been more than a princess,' he looked down the road in the direction that Orihime would be walking from, part of him could feel her approaching and he knew he had to do something to change her mind. In high school he hadn't had much thoughts towards girls but as soon as all of the spring time hormones had spread through him and the others he'd found his mind focusing on only one woman; Orihime. He had never questioned who he would eventually choose as his, she was stronger than she thought and he'd always felt close to her, but he realized that he'd done a half assed job of showing her that in the past.

He walked towards the gate to the barracks, wanting to feel closer to her, and when she turned the corner a few minutes later he couldn't help the happy rumble/purr that escaped him though he did find it a bit surprising still. He'd heard the same noise from Zaraki and the other males when their mate had come into sight or even when they'd been thinking of their mates, a noise that only seemed to come out when they were in human form though as big cats they were all known to purr when happy. The first time he'd made that noise everyone had froze and Yoruichi had demanded to know who he was thinking of which Ichigo supposed was what had started all of this. Yoruichi had left a short time later to go to the world of the living, unknown to Ichigo at the time, and when she'd returned she'd told Ichigo what was happening in the human world around Orihime which led to Urahara and Yoruichi going back through the records that Aizen had kept. Upon discovering that Aizen had used Orihime as a test to see if he could infect others in a more indirect approach, they had finally figured out just how Ichigo himself had been changed. It seemed that Aizen had ordered Ulquiorra to kill him, knowing that Grimmjow would have Orihime heal him, and Ulquiorra had left behind something inside Ichigo's body that Aizen had planted on his number 4. Ichigo supposed that he should just be grateful that Aizen had been testing other methods of infection, because the thought of how Yoruichi, Ukitake, and Renji had been changed still made his skin crawl. Orihime approached slowly as if unsure, clearly she was still nervous about everything that was happening, and Ichigo felt the lion inside him stir and growl with approval as he walked over to her

"Yoruichi said that we are going to Hueco mundo tomorrow?" she ventured and he nodded once "She said that it could be dangerous, will we be okay going by ourselves?" Ichigo reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, feeling them heat beneath his fingers as a light blush colored her cheeks

"She did some recon a few days before we brought you here to the soul society, apparently without a leader to draw them there the hollows prefer to remain outside where they are used to being; buildings like las noches are a purely human creation," he tilted her chin up, his eyes searching her face "but regardless, they won't be a problem. Trust me, everything will be fine," she smiled and slowly relaxed

"Yes sir," she barely breathed and Ichigo felt his body harden in response as he bit back a groan

'Damn, she's a natural submissive,' he thought and bent his head to nuzzle her cheek, branding her with his scent before pulling back and taking her hand "Come," he murmured in a husky voice "let's get you settled,"

After a dinner of beef and potatoes, a pleasant surprise for Orihime who'd been missing home cooking, Ichigo led her to a room which had a western style bed in it that looked big enough to fit five people. Orihime had trouble looking at it, feeling like a bride on her wedding night except she knew that she couldn't be more than a passing fancy for Ichigo

'Surely he's met another woman who would be more suitable,' she thought but, judging by the way she could feel Ichigo's eyes on her as she walked into the room to look around, he had no other interest except her right then

"There's an indoor hot spring through the door on your right," he said as he leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, watching her like a hunter eyeing prey which instead of making Orihime nervous just made her feel hot "you can take a bath and rest for the night, I'll come back to get you in the morning," Orihime nodded, still embarrassed about her slip up earlier, and when she felt the heat of his body behind her she shivered as he murmured in her ear "What was that? I didn't catch it," and she sucked in a startled breath as her eyes widened in surprise, still glued to the ground

'He… wants me to say it again?' she swallowed with difficulty as she began to tremble, her body reacting to his nearness, and said in a low voice "Yes sir," he leaned forward enough to press a kiss to her neck without his body touching hers, a reward for her words

"Good girl," he praised in a husky voice then pulled back and walked to the door "I'll see you in the morning," he called back and he was gone, leaving Orihime shaking and aching in strange new ways that she hoped he knew how to stop because she feared that if she had to spend too much more time feeling this way that she might just lose her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Orihime woke the next morning when a sudden pain tore through her middle and she rolled onto her side with a gasp as she wrapped her arms around her middle, she whimpered softly and then as if that little noise had been all she'd needed the pain began to fade just as suddenly as it had come on. She stared outside from the bed for a while, just trying to breathe, and she heard a small voice in her head prodding her into motion

"You must hurry," the voice, strangely familiar though Orihime couldn't place it for some reason, and she rolled out of bed and onto her feet before getting dressed with shaky hands into a light yellow dress with orange flowers along the bottom. She went to the door that led outside and settled there to wait, her heart and her head racing as she wondered about the voice, the pain, and just what the hell was going to happen when they got to Hueco mundo.

"Anything?" Ichigo prompted and Orihime shook her head, keeping her eyes on the ground as they walked through las noches, wandering mostly because Orihime didn't feel what Ichigo said the others had felt when they'd been brought here. She didn't feel anything inside of her stirring, she didn't feel restless anymore after getting here, and actually she felt better than she had in over a year. What she hadn't told anyone was that during her brief stay here, she'd felt strangely at peace, comfortable even in enemy territory, and now that she had returned a part of her had settled as if relieved to be back. They walked for hours and Ichigo tried several times to speak with her but Orihime couldn't find it in her to reply, too uneasy with just how happy her soul seemed to be with her returning, and when they found the throne room Orihime felt Ichigo tense and she looked up with a confused frown when she saw hollows filling the room on both sides. They turned as one and then all of those that were able knelt and bowed their heads while those that didn't have the legs to kneel simply bowed their heads as if in reverence "What the hell is going on here?" Ichigo asked as he looked around

"We've been waiting for your return," came the voice that she'd heard this morning again that she hadn't been able to place and Orihime's eyes shot up to the throne where Ulquiorra was standing off to the side of the empty chair, he looked much as he had the last time Orihime had seen him and she let out a breath as she felt the stirring inside of her that Ichigo had told her about

'This restlessness, oh God don't tell me that this means… is Ulquiorra the one or is this feeling something else?' she thought a bit frantically as Ichigo stepped in front of her to shield her

"You want a rematch? Then bring it on, you don't know it but we've gotten a lot stronger since our last fight," Ichigo said in a hard voice and Ulquiorra glanced at Ichigo for a moment before shaking his head

"I was not referring to you, Ichigo Kurosaki," he looked back at Orihime and placed his hand over his chest with a little half bow "Welcome back, mother," the pain sparked to life in her middle again though not as badly as before, then it radiated down to her fingertips which tingled as if they were asleep as Ichigo glanced back at her before glaring at Ulquiorra

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded with a hard gaze and Ulquiorra straightened and glanced behind the throne before snapping his fingers and a small hollow wandered out from the shadows that looked to be about the size of a terrier. It was wearing a red collar and when it saw Orihime it began to wag its tail, clearly happy to see her, and when it barked like a dog Orihime felt something that was almost like a memory that she couldn't quite grasp

"I am sending this hollow to you to help explain things, you can see that it is not very strong and is no threat to you," Ulquiorra snapped again and the little hollow bounded over to them like an excited puppy, Ichigo tensed as if he fully intended on crushing the little creature and Orihime reached out and grabbed his arm causing him to glance back at her

"Wait," she whispered, her throat feeling like someone was strangling her but she felt that she needed to touch the small creature in a way that felt like an obsession. She went to her knees and held her hand out to the creature that approached with a happily wagging tail, well aware of Ichigo's watchful gaze, and when the hollow put its front legs on her knees she reached out and a softly glowing golden dust flowed from her hands that looked like her shun shun rikka had been ground into powder and was now flowing from her fingers. It swirled around the little hollow before settling into the hole in the hollow's stomach and filling it until the hollow was completely whole again, and Orihime felt the pain in her middle ease as the dust she'd created swirled around her before fading and the little creature ran several laps around her then jumped into her arms to happily lick her face

"What the…? How did you do that?" Ichigo asked in confusion and glared at Ulquiorra who had remained next to the throne observing what had happened with a look on his face that, while blank, seemed somehow more pleased than his usual blank face

"Lord Aizen told me that this would work, but I must admit I didn't think it would be so quickly done," he glanced behind him and called "Grimmjow, she's here," Ichigo tensed again and Orihime looked up as Grimmjow sauntered into sight on the opposite side of the throne that Ulquiorra was standing on, his expression bored as usual until it landed on Ichigo and his eyes narrowed though he didn't attack as Orihime almost expected him to

"I'm guessing it worked since she's holding that damned dog," he muttered and Orihime clutched the creature a little closer as it squirmed and nuzzled her happily

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo demanded "Why aren't you two dead, and what did you do to Orihime?"

"You didn't bother to kill us, so why the hell wouldn't we still be alive? And we didn't do anything idiot, she's Aizen's daughter," Grimmjow said and Orihime's eyes widened as she shook her head

"My parents died," she said and Grimmjow smirked

"Actually your mom died and your dad returned to the soul society,"

"Grimmjow, be quiet; telling her is one thing but attacking her isn't going to get us anywhere," Ulquiorra said and looked back at her "Lord Aizen left you a note on that creature's collar, we don't know what he said but perhaps it will answer some of your questions," Orihime looked down and noticed that sure enough the collar had a note tucked around the length of the back, and when she removed the collar the creature settled in her lap as she unwrapped it

Orihime,

I had hoped to have this conversation with you before I left, but assuming you are reading this I am already dead or unable to speak with you. I won't take the time to explain how this all came together, what you need to know is only your role in the future of mankind should you choose to accept. You already know what you can do, assuming you've healed the dog-like hollow that had this note on him, and you can do the same for all hollows now that you've awakened. With the holes in them healed, the hollows will no longer need or want to eat human souls and you can heal every one of them from the lowliest gillian to the vasto lorde themselves. I suggest that you start with Ulquiorra, as he will be a great help to you, but he is the only one that I would trust explicitly. If any of the others survived, I ask that you trust Ulquiorra's judgment in healing them or not. Ichigo Kurosaki will be a valuable ally in helping you to deal with those that cannot be trusted, but I do not doubt that he will not like having Ulquiorra close to you based on the history between you two. Please do not think badly of my former number 4, his only fault is that his loyalty often over comes his reasoning skills but do not assume that because of this weakness that he is a fool. He will aid and guide you well in coming to know your new purpose, and with him and Ichigo by your side I don't doubt that you will make a fine queen of Hueco mundo.

Aizen

Orihime reread the letter twice before handing it to Ichigo and she stood as his face grew darker and darker, handing it back to her and glaring at Ulquiorra

"I don't trust him or Aizen," Ichigo said flatly "we need to go back to the soul society and have a chat with the head captain and the others," Orihime didn't argue, after all she had expected that much, and she held out the dog to Ichigo who looked at it for a moment before gingerly accepting the sleeping creature. Orihime walked towards the throne as she tucked the note into her pocket, aware that Ichigo was staying close behind her, and when she reached the middle of the room she closed her eyes and raised her hands out to her sides. She felt the tingling in her hands spread then ease and when she opened her eyes the dust was swirling around the lesser hollows that were on either side of the room, and after a few moments it returned to her and the hollows growled and stretched and reached for her with hesitant hands

"Mother," several of them growled and Orihime glanced at them and offered her hand cautiously only to receive nuzzles and kisses of gratitude to the backs of her hands which made Ichigo growl, causing them to back off to the sides of the room again. Orihime looked to the throne and walked up to it before turning to Ulquiorra who hadn't moved since he'd propped his hip on the arm of the throne a few minutes before

"Why did you call me mother?" she asked him and Ulquiorra shrugged a shoulder

"A master is a man, a Lord is a man, and a mistress is a whore; I wasn't sure what else I could call you that would show the respect that Lord Aizen demanded you be treated with," Ulquiorra glanced away and admitted "Hollows don't have mothers, but in healing them you are showing a care for them that they have never known before. To me that sounds much like a mother," Orihime reached out to him, hesitated when Ichigo growled, then took a breath and allowed the dust to swirl from her fingers and into Ulquiorra's hole in his chest. Ulquiorra's body jerked and he clenched his jaw before closing his eyes and he shuddered as the hole began to heal, much more slowly than the others but Orihime had a feeling that Ulquiorra was probably much older than the lesser hollows that she had healed. After a full 15 minutes Ulquiorra's chest was whole and Orihime was trembling from the strain, finally collapsing into the throne as Ichigo knelt in front of her but Orihime didn't hear him because Aizen's voice flooded her mind as if sitting in the throne had activated something

"Welcome back, Orihime, my daughter; I can only hope that you are sitting where you are because you've decided to accept the powers I've awoken within you and use them to help all humans in both the world of the living as well as the soul society," Orihime glanced to the side to find that Ulquiorra had fallen to one knee, apparently being healed had taken quite a bit out of him as well, and she reached a shaking hand out to him with the intent of checking on him but Ichigo grabbed her hand and Orihime was too weak to stop him "I hope that by now you have healed Ulquiorra, and if you haven't I stress again that he will be a great help to you, but I had to let you know one last detail that I forgot to put into my letter to you; the hollows that you heal that are of a class that is higher than an adjucha will need contact with you on a regular basis. Nothing inappropriate, I know how some humans can be, and knowing Ulquiorra he will be content with the opportunity to kiss your hand every day or so and that will be plenty.

You no doubt noticed if you've healed any hollows so far, that immediately after being healed they will want to thank you; that is not because of manners, as hollows usually don't have any, it is instead a seal of sorts to make sure that their holes do not reopen. This is a necessary step and cannot be skipped or you will spend much of your time healing hollows over and over again, but once sealed the lesser hollows will most likely leave las noches. It may take a year or more of actively seeking out hollows before your task is complete, but no need to worry; with what you've done for them I am sure that the lesser hollows would be happy to go and bring others to you if you ask them," Orihime opened her eyes and took her hand from Ichigo and reached for Ulquiorra again, swatting weakly at Ichigo when he tried to stop her, and Ulquiorra reached a shaking hand to lightly touch the palm of her hand with his finger tips before shuddering and collapsing against the side of the throne

"Well damn woman," Grimmjow said as he looked down at Ulquiorra's crumpled form, clearly Aizen was done speaking with her because suddenly she could hear again "you did in 15 minutes what took Ichigo hours; you practically killed Ulquiorra,"

"I am not dead," Ulquiorra muttered "however I think I will need to rest here for a little while,"

"Pussy," Grimmjow snorted and Ulquiorra opened one eye to look up at the unimpressed panther

"I will remind you of your words when mother is strong enough to heal you and you become worse off than I,"

"Like hell," Ichigo snapped "she can't even move, she's not doing that again,"

"Ichigo," Orihime murmured and Ichigo looked back at her and she could see the worry in his eyes as he lightly caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers "I'm alright, I just need to rest for a bit," she looked past his shoulder to the lesser hollows, the ones that had touched her already had left she noticed and as she struggled to sit up Ichigo pulled her into his arms and stood as he held her close and protected "I need to seal the others," she said softly and Ichigo gave her a stern look

"You need to rest," he insisted

"I only need them to touch my hand, it won't take long," she said and Ichigo sighed, clearly recognizing that he wasn't going to dissuade her, and he walked with her through the group of hollows to let them each touch or nuzzle her hands after which they left and Orihime glanced back at Ulquiorra as Ichigo carried her to the senkaimon to return to the others. She felt whatever stirring she'd worried about earlier settle and she sighed and snuggled closer to Ichigo's chest as she drifted off to sleep. Surely Grimmjow would see to Ulquiorra, she couldn't see the brutish panther just leaving Ulquiorra slumped over like that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Most of this chapter is Ulquiorra and Grimmjow-You've been warned!**

Ulquiorra woke in his own bed, much to his surprise, and when he glanced to the side he found Grimmjow leaning against the wall close to his door with his arms crossed as if he'd been keeping watch over Ulquiorra as he slept. Ulquiorra sat up and felt his blanket slide off of his chest to pool in his lap, immediately realizing that he's been stripped and wondering just what Grimmjow had done and why as he glanced over to the panther. Grimmjow's eyes were locked on him, his gaze intense, and Ulquiorra immediately felt vulnerable which was silly and he knew it; he was stronger than Grimmjow, even if he was naked. Ulquiorra didn't speak as he swung his legs out of the bed and stood, noting Grimmjow's continued attention as Ulquiorra wandered over towards his dresser to pull out some clean clothes

"You stopped breathing for nearly 30 minutes after Inoue left," Grimmjow said in a voice that revealed very little and Ulquiorra tied his pants as he wondered about that before shrugging into his shirt

"I guess the connection between us doesn't follow her into the soul society or the world of the living, that is unfortunate," he said and felt Grimmjow suddenly move to press against his back and Ulquiorra felt a shudder run through him as Grimmjow pinned him against his dresser and growled in his ear, clearly angry and full of pent up aggression

"You fucking died and all you can say is 'that is unfortunate'?" Ulquiorra waited for nearly a full minute before glancing back at Grimmjow, wondering why he had not moved away but also why Ulquiorra himself didn't want Grimmjow to move away

"Careful, Grimmjow, one who does not know better might think from your reaction that you do not want me to die," he said carefully and Grimmjow growled lowly again before tearing himself away and returning to the doorway with a look dark as a thunder cloud, and after straightening his clothes Ulquiorra wandered that way as well "How long since mother left?"

"About an hour," Grimmjow answered, clearly still a bit angry but calming down as he followed after Ulquiorra who was making his way back to the throne room

"Did she leave any orders for us while she was away?"

"No," Grimmjow muttered "she passed out and Kurosaki carried her off," Ulquiorra looked around the throne room which was empty for now, and glanced back at Grimmjow

"Well then I suppose we should go and gather more hollows for her to heal before she comes back," Grimmjow sighed and scratched the back of his neck

"Pain in the ass is what this whole thing's turned out to be," he muttered but didn't argue, following Ulquiorra outside into Hueco mundo to gather some more hollows.

A day later Grimmjow was closing the main hall doors, tired as all hell but more worried than anything as he glanced back at Ulquiorra who was perched on the back of the throne in his resurreccion segunda form with his wings outspread. He'd been able to gather many lesser hollows to him just by ordering them to follow him into las noches, and Grimmjow wasn't surprised; to any lesser hollow the amount of power that rolled off of Ulquiorra in waves was a serious threat to their health if they had refused. Grimmjow walked towards the throne as Ulquiorra explained to the hollows what would happen when Inoue got back, tuning out his words because he was more worried about the fine lines around Ulquiorra's eyes, and when the hollows all settled down to wait Ulquiorra hopped off of the back of the throne and wandered towards his room in the back with Grimmjow following close behind

"They would have come if you had only released to your first level release state, you didn't have to go full out resurreccion segunda on them," Ulquiorra walked into his room without a word and Grimmjow frowned when he saw Ulquiorra stumble then revert to his sealed form before he collapsed onto his bed, and Grimmjow rushed to him and just as he'd feared Ulquiorra wasn't breathing again. He cursed and rolled him onto his back as he had before and laid on his side along the length of the bat to seal Ulquiorra's lips with his own to breathe for him, Ulquiorra's heart continued to beat without trouble just like before and after another 30 minutes Grimmjow pulled back to take a breath only to feel Ulquiorra's chest rise on its own again. Grimmjow let out the breath he'd just taken with a curse and patted Ulquiorra's cheek until the former number 4 slowly opened his eyes which looked a bit cloudy "Would you stop fucking dying on me?" Grimmjow snarled and Ulquiorra blinked slowly before looking at Grimmjow's face as his eyes cleared and when his lips parted Grimmjow blinked in surprise when he saw the little fangs that he'd revealed

"Again?" Ulquiorra whispered and Grimmjow's eyes narrowed again as the surprise faded back into irritation

"Yes again, I'm not gonna always be around to bring you back so you'd better knock that shit off right now," Ulquiorra lifted his head and Grimmjow went still when he felt Ulquiorra brush his lips over Grimmjow's suddenly throbbing pulse, his lips soft and warm and somehow almost drugging in how soothing they felt against Grimmjow's skin

"I am going to bite you," Ulquiorra warned in a soft voice, making Grimmjow shudder at the thought of those little fangs in his neck "will you allow it?" Ulquiorra questioned, surprising Grimmjow because he had thought that by not pulling back he'd given the bat consent, and he cleared his throat and cupped the back of Ulquiorra's head to help keep him steady when he trembled

"Do whatever you want, just don't stop breathing again," he muttered and shivered with pleasure as his eyes fluttered closed when Ulquiorra nuzzled his neck with the tip of his nose before following the action with a lick of his tongue, Grimmjow fisted his free hand in the sheet of the bed and none too soon because a moment later Ulquiorra sank his fangs deep and Grimmjow's breath escaped him in a startled exhalation as his entire body hardened in response. As a cat type espada he'd always been aroused by biting to a certain degree, but to feel Ulquiorra sucking on the wound he'd made only made Grimmjow even hotter and to feel Ulquiorra pressing his own body closer to him made Grimmjow want to growl and clutch him closer though he struggled against the impulse

'He's a bat, he must be a vampire bat, he's not trying to seduce me, he's just hungry, but fuck this feels good,' he panted as he shuddered uncontrollably and when he felt Ulquiorra clutch the front of his vest to drag him closer Grimmjow moaned when Ulquiorra shifted his hips and Grimmjow felt his erection brush against his own 'Fuck, maybe not,' he realized and used his free hand to cup Ulquiorra's ass and haul him tightly against his body and Ulquiorra did something that Grimmjow would have never thought in a million years he'd do; the sweet little bat bucked his hips and whimpered for him as he came.

Ulquiorra shuddered as he slowly pulled his lips away from Grimmjow's pulse, barely having enough thought process left to lift himself again to lick the wounds to promote the healing that would see them sealed in the next minute or so, and when he collapsed back onto the bed he was panting so hard that he was almost afraid his lungs would burst. He'd never felt like that when feeding before, in fact he rarely felt anything except pain in most cases, so when he'd sunk his fangs into Grimmjow's neck and his body had reacted he'd simply went with his instincts and kept feeding until he'd exploded. He looked up at Grimmjow after a moment of catching his breath and saw the shock on his face, clearly Ulquiorra had just done something strange because the panther seemed dumbstruck, and when Ulquiorra shifted a little he felt his pants rubbed against his cock and his cock jerked again and he closed his eyes on a gasp then ended on a soft moan that he couldn't hold back even if he'd wanted to. A low growl from Grimmjow had Ulquiorra's eyes fluttering open again and Ulquiorra's eyes widened when Grimmjow kissed him passionately, cupping his ass again and holding him close as he ravaged his lips, and Ulquiorra moaned softly and rocked his hips against Grimmjow's as he savored another aftershock and rubbed against Grimmjow's own erection

"You're so fucking sexy," Grimmjow growled breathlessly "why the hell are you so cold all the time when you can moan like that?" Ulquiorra reached between them and cupped Grimmjow erection, jerking him off as he pressed hot kisses to Grimmjow's neck and jaw earning a groan then a shudder as Grimmjow nuzzled him and panted "Hell no, you're not getting out of this, answer me Ulquiorra," Ulquiorra ran his tongue along Grimmjow's jaw and panted

"I've never done that before, I was just hungry and my cock went insane," Grimmjow groaned and squeezed Ulquiorra's ass, making the bat ache again as he teased Grimmjow's erection

"I'm gonna fuck you," Grimmjow panted "but not yet, I'm just too fucking excited to go easy on you," Ulquiorra wasn't sure what that meant but it would have sounded like a threat if Grimmjow wasn't trembling against him, squeezing his ass and making Ulquiorra hard again, and Ulquiorra tilted his head to the side in a submissive pose that made Grimmjow's eyes darken and his pupils dilate

"Do with me what you will," Ulquiorra invited and knew he'd answered right when he felt Grimmjow's cock throb in his hand, Grimmjow growled and tore off Ulquiorra's clothes including his wet pants before laying him back on the bed and taking off his own clothes. Ulquiorra slowly licked his lips when Grimmjow revealed his erection but before Ulquiorra could reach for him Grimmjow pinned his arms above his head and growled lowly in his ear

"Stay just like that, don't move," Ulquiorra watched as Grimmjow lifted one of his legs, spreading his ass with his hand before he wet his fingers and pressed two inside Ulquiorra making the bat suck in a startled breath before shuddering as his cock throbbed as if in anticipation. Grimmjow worked them slowly deeper then spread them, all the while watching Ulquiorra's face, and the bat panted as he struggled not to squirm but he could feel his cock throbbing against his stomach as Grimmjow started thrusting his fingers even adding a third and the slight ache made Ulquiorra moan

"G-Grimmjow…" he panted and Grimmjow pressed his fingers a little deeper making Ulquiorra whimper when his fingers brushed against a bundle of nerves inside of him, he felt his fangs lengthen and his eyes warmed as they began to glow and he heard Grimmjow's startled breath before the panther growled

"So fucking sexy when you're aroused," Ulquiorra moaned as Grimmjow teased the little bundle of nerves he'd found, his hips writhing and arching as if trying to get away as he felt his balls tighten painfully

"Grimmjow, please, I need…" Ulquiorra moaned then whimpered when Grimmjow withdrew his fingers before lifting his other leg and moving over him, Ulquiorra's eyes widened in surprise when he felt the head of Grimmjow's cock tease his puckered entrance and he felt him slowly pressing forward as Ulquiorra panted and closed his eyes with a moan. His entrance softened and accepted Grimmjow's cock with a wet noise that made Ulquiorra ache for more of him, but Grimmjow stayed as he was panting hard as he watched Ulquiorra's face as his pupils suddenly shrunk to cat-like pupils and his fangs lengthened

"I want to bite you," Grimmjow panted "but if I do I'm gonna cum," Ulquiorra arched his hips in invitation and Grimmjow growled as he leaned down to nuzzle Ulquiorra before slowly sliding deeper. Ulquiorra moaned and closed his eyes as the pleasure and slight ache made his cock throb, wrapping his arms around Grimmjow's neck and clinging to him as he slid fully inside and moaning in his ear

"Bite me, fuck me, please just make me cum again," Grimmjow growled and squeezed his ass before withdrawing and thrusting forward again

"Greedy, aren't you?" Grimmjow panted and started a slow rhythm that made Ulquiorra's ass and cock throb with delight

"Yes," Ulquiorra panted then moaned when Grimmjow thrust a little harder "I begin to see that I am very greedy for this," he dug his claws into Grimmjow's back and the panther immediately picked up his pace, startling Ulquiorra in the best possible way, and as they writhed together Ulquiorra felt something inside opening up in a strange and beautiful way. Grimmjow sank his fangs into Ulquiorra's neck and the bat jerked in surprise then moaned when he felt Grimmjow's cock jerk inside of him, flooding him with the warmth of his seed, and Ulquiorra moaned softly and clung to him as he shuddered. Grimmjow reached between them and fisted his cock and Ulquiorra moaned and tried to arch away "I-I'll get you all wet," he protested and Grimmjow removed his fangs long enough to pant

"Cum for me, you greedy bastard," then he sank his fangs deep again and Ulquiorra arched his back and exploded with a cry as he came all over their stomachs which only made Grimmjow throb harder inside him, Ulquiorra shuddered with delight and held Grimmjow as the panther collapsed over him with his cock still throbbing inside of Ulquiorra's ass which throbbed with approval. Grimmjow nuzzled him and purred softly as Ulquiorra removed his claws, his hands finding Ulquiorra's thighs and massaging them firmly as he pressed kisses to Ulquiorra's neck and shoulder. Ulquiorra settled back into the bed and closed his eyes for a bit as he ran his fingers through Grimmjow's hair, at one point feeling Grimmjow's now softened cock slide from his ass with a bit of cum before the panther moved back to his side to nuzzle his cheek and kiss him softly. Ulquiorra sighed softly and sank into the warm kisses before opening his eyes and when a small smile curved his lips he saw Grimmjow blink once as if startled before he smiled and kissed him again.

Orihime returned to Hueco mundo a little over a day later as Ichigo and the others went to the head captain to report what was happening through the senkaimon that opened to the right of the throne room, and when she turned into the throne room she was pleased to see that it had been filled nearly to bursting with lesser hollows to be healed. She looked around curiously but didn't see Ulquiorra or Grimmjow in the room so she shrugged and wandered towards the center to hold her arms up, healing the whole room in about five minutes then sitting in the center to seal them all and send them on their way. She rose after they had all left and stretched, feeling really good physically even if mentally she feared that she was going to lose it with so much time to herself, and after a sigh she decided to go for a walk both to get to know los noches and to see if she could find Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. She walked around most of the castle in the time it took for Ichigo and the others to come back and she didn't even need the mental connection that they had with each other to know that they were back because the moment that Ichigo came through the senkaimon she felt her skin prickle with awareness. She rubbed at her arms as they broke out in goose bumps and sighed before leaning against a wall to wait, knowing that it would be easier for Ichigo to find her than it would be for her to find her way back, but a few minutes passed and the first person she saw was Ulquiorra who was wandering her direction from the direction of the bedrooms with bite marks on his neck. She immediately felt worried and went to meet him but he simply took her hand, kissed the back, and didn't remark about his obvious wounds

"Welcome back, mother," he greeted "did you find the hollows that we gathered for you while you were away?" she nodded and, with one last worried glance at his neck she let him guide her back towards the throne room

"Yes, I found them and sent them on their way nearly two hours ago," she confirmed and he nodded once

"Very well, would you like Grimmjow and me to go and fetch more of them for you tonight?" Orihime shook her head

"Actually I wanted to know your thoughts about healing Grimmjow next," Ulquiorra hesitated, something Orihime had never seen from him before, then he admitted

"I am not sure that it will be safe, mother; you see while you were gone I evidently stopped breathing twice for 30 minutes each," Orihime's eyes widened and she turned and stopped in front of him

"Ulquiorra, that's something you should have told me right away, it's very important that I know about the health of you especially!" Ulquiorra met her gaze and said simply

"Grimmjow revived me, evidently breathing for me until I could do so on my own again," Orihime blushed but pushed

"Why? What happened?"

"I assume that the connection between us cannot travel between Hueco mundo and the other two worlds," he said "it is unconfirmed, but I do know that the second time it happened was after a great show of power on my part so it is possible that I ran out of spirit energy," Orihime sighed and covered her face for a minute before rubbing her eyes and shaking her head

"Okay, so I won't leave Hueco mundo then; I can't risk you and Grimmjow," she looked up and gave Ulquiorra a hard look "I need to know anything concerning your health in the future right away so that we can make sure that you're alright, understand?" Ulquiorra gave her a small smile, startling her as he took her hand and kissed the back again

"Yes, mother, I understand,"

"Y-you just…" she stammered

"I know, scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it too," Grimmjow said as he padded up behind them and Orihime watched in surprise as Grimmjow leaned down and kissed Ulquiorra's cheek before glancing at her "So, are we gonna do me today or what?"

"We'll need a seat for mother before she heals you, Grimmjow, so why don't we go to the throne room? Kurosaki and the others have arrived as well, so they can see firsthand what she can do," Ulquiorra said, not commenting on the greeting he'd received anymore than the bites on his neck, and Orihime felt a smile curve her lips as well as the three of them walked towards the throne room; she'd have never guessed that they would get together with each other but she supposed they fit together just as well as the others.

"Hey Ulquiorra, what's with the hickeys?" Renji called and Grimmjow immediately glanced at Ulquiorra's neck and sighed before moving to his side and cupping his hip to draw him close

"You ran off before I could heal these," he murmured and felt Ulquiorra soften against him as he tilted his head to the side to give him access

"I sensed mother return and wanted to make sure that she wasn't getting lost," he said as Grimmjow gently licked the wounds clean, ignoring Yoruichi's cat-calls and the resulting laughs until Ulquiorra was healed then he lifted his head and growled

"Back the fuck off, woman," Yoruichi only laughed but somehow the entire atmosphere changed, relaxing as if Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had just slid into the group somehow and had been accepted. Orihime lightly touched Grimmjow's arm and he nodded and kissed Ulquiorra before wandering with her over towards the throne, leaning against it as Ulquiorra had done and as soon as the dust swirled from her fingers and entered Grimmjow's gut he felt the air leave his lungs. His whole body stiffened as if from a continuous electric shock that didn't pulse but remained a steady and constant source of heat that morphed almost immediately into a pain not unlike cauterizing a wound "Fuuuuck," he snarled breathlessly and what felt like a hellish eternity later he collapsed to the ground with Ulquiorra's arms around him, hearing as if from a distance as Orihime sat in her throne

"That took longer than I expected," Kisuke remarked

"It took even longer with Ulquiorra," Ichigo said "Orihime thinks it has something to do with age cuz the lesser hollows can fill this room and she can be done with them all in about a minute," Ulquiorra smoothed his hand over Grimmjow's brow and the panther panted against his neck

"Guess you were right, Ulquiorra, I am worse off than you were," then everything went black as he passed out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ichigo watched as Ulquiorra lifted Grimmjow and walked away with him after Orihime had sealed him with a touch to his cheek, frowning as he wondered what the hell was going on around here as he glanced back down at Orihime who did seem tired though not as bad as she had been with Ulquiorra

"So how many espada are left?" Ukitake wondered and Ichigo tucked Orihime's hair behind her ear as she stirred and looked up at them

"Ulquiorra and Grimmjow are the only two that have approached me so far," she admitted "but I've only been here for a couple of days and I don't even know which are still alive and which are dead; Ulquiorra might know," she closed her eyes with a small smile "but he needs to tend to Grimmjow right now, it can wait,"

"Why would Ulquiorra waste his time with Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked with something akin to disgust, much to everyone else's amusement

"Oh Ichigo, you're clueless," Kyoraku said with a grin and Ichigo rolled his eyes and looked back to Orihime, gently touching her cheek causing her to stir and open her eyes again

"Ichigo, can you take me to bed for a while?" she asked and even though Ichigo knew that she meant to rest he still felt his cock twitch with interest, he scooped her into his arms and walked with her back towards the bedrooms as the others got to discussing how they were going to proceed. Orihime snuggled into his chest and asked "So how did things with the head captain go? Did he agree to let us stay here to heal the hollows?" Ichigo nodded

"Yeah, I brought him the dog like you suggested and showed him, then Kisuke sent a video of you healing Grimmjow to him and he said that he doesn't see a problem with us cutting down on his work load in the soul society. He plans to give you a year and see how things are looking then," Orihime nodded and sighed softly

"Only a year, I really hope that I can make a difference in so short a time," Ichigo nudged open a mostly open door with his foot revealing a simple but clean room that looked like it had been recently cleaned and aired out because a window was cracked on the other side of the room

"Don't worry so much," he said and set her on the bed "you just do what you can, I'm sure Ulquiorra and Grimmjow will help out all they can," Orihime chuckled and cupped Ichigo's cheek, making a low purr escape his chest

"That can't have been easy for you to say," she teased and he shrugged a shoulder and leaned over her

"Our fight is past, I guess, and they want to help so I won't harass them too much," he murmured and brushed his lips over her cheek "rest now, I'll wake you for supper," he started to rise but Orihime stopped him with a hand on his arm

"Will you stay with me?" he cupped his hand over hers and lifted her hand up to his cheek where he let it rest as he closed his eyes with a sigh

"I'm not as strong as you seem to think I am, Orihime," he warned her and felt her tug on his other hand to get him to lay by her side

"Then stop being strong and be weak for a little while," she invited as his eyes opened again to look down at her inviting form, his body hardening further as he tried to remind himself that she needed rest, but as she pulled him down with her he found her lips with his and kissed her softly. She softened against his hard body, fitting him perfectly as he'd known she would, and as he explored her lips he swallowed her soft sighs and wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. He pulled his lips away to trail them down to her throbbing pulse and murmured in a low voice

"You should be resting," she let out a little chuckle that sounded decidedly breathless

"I'm in a bed, I'm lying down, and my eyes are closed; close enough," he pressed a kiss to her jaw before running one of his hands from her back down to her rounded ass, and he felt her tremble as he pushed her skirt up her thigh revealing that she wasn't wearing panties. He groaned and nuzzled her neck, luxuriating in her musky scent even as he tried to find it in him to pull away from her. She seemed to sense that he was trying to do the right thing and let her rest because she sighed softly and pressed a kiss to the side of his head before murmuring "Come up here with me, Ichigo, we'll rest together," she promised and Ichigo, equal parts relieved and disappointed, nuzzled up her neck to feel her kiss him again and slide her hand into his pants to grasp his erection. He sucked in a startled breath and moaned into Orihime's kisses as she moved her hand along his throbbing length, and Ichigo retaliated by sliding his hand between her thighs which he couldn't help but notice parted as if she'd hoped he'd return the favor, and as his fingers dipped between the slick heat of her lips to find her clit he delighted in her shiver and the moan that flooded his ears.

Orihime felt Ichigo's fingers sliding against her clit and she had a hard time trying to concentrate on Ichigo's cock as her body shook with both pleasure and nerves, she'd never felt a man's cock before and she hadn't thought she'd have the nerve to take the first step but with Ichigo's cock throbbing in her hand she felt powerful; feeling his strong sword calloused fingers between her legs made her feel weak too, but both were more than she could have hoped for. She whimpered into Ichigo's demanding kisses as his fingers rubbed her clit in little circles, her body tightening quickly in response, and when he suddenly dipped two fingers inside her she tossed her head back with a cry as her body clenched around the intruders that gave her a whole new world of sensation. Ichigo pressed hot kisses to her neck as she moved her hand on his cock, trying to keep her hand moving, but when he nibbled on her neck and her pussy clenched she couldn't help but tighten her hold earning a groan of approval.

Ichigo bucked his hips into her hand and Orihime felt her pussy tighten further in response as she thought of him thrusting so powerfully into her, and as she felt her orgasm build up from her toes she captured Ichigo's lips again and clung to him with her free hand as she moved her hand along his cock and moaned which seemed to tell Ichigo all he needed to know. He applied more pressure and rubbed her clit faster as she rocked her hips into his hand and she whimpered as her body tightened unbearably before shattering with a gasp when Ichigo pressed two fingers back inside and rubbed her with his thumb, Ichigo growled lowly as he coaxed every spasm he could from her and when Orihime finally collapsed back against his free arm she could only pant against his chest and look with disappointment down at her hand where Ichigo was still throbbing between her fingers. She moved her hand on him, hoping to coax an orgasm from him as well, and she felt him shudder and press a hot kiss to the top of her head

"That's it," he panted "a little harder," he groaned when she obeyed and she watched in awe as several beads of moisture escaped, and when she felt his hand tighten on her hip she felt her pussy clench with arousal as his cock began to throb hard in her hand "Watch me, Orihime, watch what you do to me," she nodded, breathless again with anticipation, and Ichigo's hand tightened hard enough to bruise her hip as he groaned and his cock jerked releasing rope after rope of cum all over their stomachs and the bed beneath them. Orihime felt her pussy clench, hungry to feel him cum inside of her after seeing him like that, and when Ichigo finally relaxed into the bed he nuzzled her and growled softly "now I'll have to rest with you, I'll be useless at this rate," Orihime smiled and snuggled close as she thought up all sorts of ways that she could wake up her king, sinking into blissful sleep wrapped in his arms.


End file.
